Poems for my Sisters

My Prayer

May I have the courage To be true to myself To explore my own darkness To be with my deepest despair To learn from my innermost sorrow And to be grateful for all that life offers me

May I have the courage To stand up for my convictions To howl loudly at the moon To grow my own wings To walk over the rainbow And to be enchanted by all that I am invited to be

May I have the courage To love with my whole heart To give without rewards To dream without restrictions To live without fear And to be the dance and the dancer that I am meant to be

Dangerous Woman

They sayI am a dangerous womanI walk the thorny path of my sexbarefoot, naked and unprotected.After the darkest night of my soul, still in the twilight of the shadow,I pick myself up.Bruised, bleeding and weary to my bonesI riseTo move forwardTo plant the seedsTo hold the childrenFor tomorrowFor eternityFor a better world.I am, indeed, a dangerous woman

The Wrong Garden First, there was Lilith First Woman, equal to First Man. To be herself She had to choose Between subordination to First Man and No Man Between the Garden of Eden and a dark cave She chose the cave And it is said that she directed her lust at her demon lovers, Allowing her daughters To gaze into the mirrors of the Otherworld Thus, we are told, the sexually demonic woman was born

Second, there was Eve Second Woman, unequal to First Man Fashioned from his rib She had to choose Between the Garden of Eden and obeying God Between eating the fruit of knowledge and No Knowledge She chose the fruit Sharing it with Adam Allowing herself to disobey the Fathergod Responsible for humanities fall from Grace Thus, we are told, the shameful, guilty woman was born

Then there was the virgin Mary And the whore Mary Magdalene Without a choice They had to be either good or badEither pure or sinfulEither saved or eternally damned And so was engrained within womanThe split between the mother and the whoreAngry at each other without mercyThus, we are told, the jealous, divided woman was bornThere we are The daughters of Eveof Earth and Sky and Underworld.With hurting souls And nearly broken spiritsWe chooseTo enjoy our lustTo be the dark and the lightTo eat the fruit of knowledgeTo reject shame and guilt To heal the divisionsTo love our sistersCreating the right garden